Survey: Most Taylorians are still keeping their mask on outdoors

Many Taylorians are maintaining their vigilance by continuing to wear their face masks outdoors despite it being optional since 1 May onwards.

According to a survey of 101 Taylorians, conducted by The inkSlingers between 1 to 10 May, 75.2 per cent weren’t planning to lose their mask any time soon.

Architecture student Sandra Lee is one of those people whose mask is staying on outside buildings and in open spaces, citing that she has not caught Covid-19 in the last two and half years and would like to maintain the sick-free streak.

“I also have high-risk parents at home, so it’s better safe than sorry…And I’m mostly indoors, so it will be rather troublesome to take off and put the mask back on when going outdoors,” she said.

Meanwhile, the survey only saw 7 per cent who will not be wearing masks outdoor.

Chong Qian Xia, 21, has been looking forward to being mask-free when she is walking her dog at the park or strolling around the streets of Kuala Lumpur city centre.

“People are a lot more spread apart in outdoor spaces, and there is better air circulation, so I think it’s okay to not wear mask outside.

“And for me, not wearing a mask gives some sense of normality, but of course, I will definitely be wearing my mask again if I’m sick or if the cases start rising,” the Public Relations and Marketing student said.

Despite the differences when it comes to wearing mask outdoors, more than half of those surveyed held neutral feelings if the Ministry of Health decides to reverse the mask wearing rules.

Respondents have also pointed out the top three locations they would still be wearing masks — medical facilities (94.1%), public transits (92.1%), and airports/airplanes (89.1%) being ranked the highest.

On 27 April, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the relaxation for a raft of Covid-19 measures, which include the outdoor mask wearing mandate.

The Ministry of Health later tweeted that the wearing of face masks is still encouraged, especially at crowded places and for those who are high-risk such as the elderly and children who are unvaccinated.

At Taylor’s University, it remains compulsory for students to mask up at all times on campus as stated in its SOP guidelines.